Law Enforcement

LAPD seeks clues in deadly Valentine's Day stabbing
Los Angeles police Monday night were looking for the killer or killers of a 63-year-old man who was fatally stabbed in Watts on Valentine's Day. Samuel Benton was lying on a sidewalk in the 1500 block of East 112th Street when he was spotted by a passerby about 7 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department said. Benton was taken to a hospital, where he died from his wounds. Police said detectives had not established a motive for the slaying.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. Police Commission may revise scope of shooting inquiries
The Los Angeles Police Commission is poised to adopt a major shift in the way it judges police shootings, tying an officer's decision to pull the trigger to his actions in the moments leading up to the incident. The rule change, which will be taken up Tuesday, would settle years of debate over whether the commission can make a determination that a shooting violated department policy if the officer created a situation in which deadly force was necessary.
Los Angeles Times

Motorcyclist killed after trying to race Lamborghini, LAPD says
A motorcyclist was killed Sunday morning when he allegedly tried to race a Lamborghini near the Beverly Center, police said. Police told KLTA News the incident occurred on La Cienega Boulevard when the motorcyclist pulled up to the sports car and tried to race. The driver of the Lamborghini refused, and the motorcyclist sped off and struck the back of a BMW near Warning Avenue, police said.
Los Angeles Times

Drivers sought in fatal hit-and-run near Atwater Village
Los Angeles police searched Friday for the drivers of two vehicles that struck a man in what they called a "gruesome" fatal hit-and-run near Atwater Village. A man crossing Riverside Drive just south of Fletcher Drive about 10 p.m. Thursday was hit by two vehicles traveling south on Riverside, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Police believe the man was lying on the street after being struck by the first vehicle when the second hit him and dragged his body a short distance, officials said.
Los Angeles Times

Silver Lake police search for 2 hit-and-run drivers who left pedestrian for dead
Police are searching for two hit-and-run drivers who struck a pedestrian Thursday night in Silver Lake. The man was struck by a vehicle as he crossed a dimly-lit area of Riverside Drive, south of Fletcher Drive. It's an area residents say is extremely dangerous for pedestrians. The first car struck the man, knocking him to the pavement. Moments later, a second driver ran over the man, dragging him for a short distance.
CBS LA

Man gravely injured in hit and run in Pacific Palisades
A hit-and-run driver gravely injured a pedestrian Friday night on Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, authorities said. The victim, a man in his 30s, was taken by helicopter to a hospital with multiple injuries. Los Angeles police were looking for the driver, a woman described as having shoulder-length brown hair and wearing a yellow shirt and white sweater.
Los Angeles Times

2 CHP officers killed in Highway 99 crash
Two California Highway Patrol officers died early Monday on Highway 99 while driving to a collision near Kingsburg. They have been identified as Brian Law of Clovis and Juan Gonzalez of Fresno. CHP Capt. Dave Paris said the CHP received multiple calls about a collision in the northbound lanes of Highway 99 south of Sierra Avenue. The officers were responding when they drove right up on the crash scene, which was in the southbound lanes north of Sierra. They took evasive action to avoid striking any of the other parties and struck a guard rail with their Ford Crown Victoria cruiser. Gonzalez was driving. They died at the scene.
Fresno Bee

GPS monitoring alerts overwhelm probation officers
Electronic monitoring was supposed to help Los Angeles County deal with the influx of thousands of felons moved out of California's prison system to ease overcrowding. The nation's largest probation department strapped GPS ankle monitors on the highest-risk of those convicts, expecting the satellite receivers to keep tabs on where they spent their days and nights, and therefore keep the public safe.
Los Angeles Times

Suspected gang shooting in Koreatown leaves man in critical condition
A man was shot in the face and in critical condition in a possible gang-related shooting in Koreatown early Sunday, police said. The man, whose name has not been released, was shot about 2:10 a.m. near the Jons Marketplace at 3334 W. 8th St., said Sgt. Raul Pedroza with the Los Angeles Police Department's Olympic Station. "We believe it's a gang shooting," Pedroza said.
Los Angeles Times

In Jordan Downs housing project, police are forging a new relationship
Jordan Downs, once predominantly African American, is now mostly Latino. More than half its adult residents are unemployed, only two in 100 have college degrees and the average family earns about $1,250 a month. It is home turf for the Grape Street Crips, whose reputation largely defines the development's identity and whose blood-soaked feuds with rival gangs created the feel of a war zone. A program begun in 2011 aims to make officers more a part of the community instead of 'the invading army.' It's working, slowly.
Los Angeles Times

Legislation

Bill would outlaw mug shot publishing websites in California
California could become the next state to restrict the publishing of jail booking photos by websites for commercial purposes. State Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) on Friday introduced legislation that would outlaw websites that publish mug shots and arrest records and charge money to remove them. The bill would not restrict the distribution of mug shots and arrest records to media outlets and interested individuals.
Los Angeles Times

Immigration

Some immigrants may lack documents for new driver's licenses
As the California Department of Motor Vehicles prepares for a historic expansion of driving privileges, some immigrants may be left out because they lack documents proving who they are or where they live. The DMV is hiring about 1,000 workers and opening five temporary offices to handle a flood of driver's license applications beginning Jan. 1, 2015, from immigrants without legal status. In a few months, the agency will issue regulations on the documents required to obtain the new license.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

L.A. City Council OKs standing reward for hit-and-runs
Stepping up its efforts to combat hit-and-runs, a city panel gave its support Friday to launching a pilot program offering a standing reward of $50,000 in cases where someone is killed. The Public Safety Committee said there would be a sliding scale of rewards ranging from $1,000 when there is property damage to $25,000 when there are injuries. "We have the distinction of being known as the hit-and-run capital of the country," Councilman Joe Buscaino said of the continuing rash of such incidents.
Los Angeles Daily News